stephaniemdury Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Hi all. I'm here on my working holiday visa and have a TFN. I have recently applied and been interviewed for a contract job of 2 months where the hiring manager has asked for applicants to have their own ABN number. The hiring manager has said that it wouldn't be a deal breaker if I couldn't get one, I guess they would just have to do something different their end. I've applied for one and it's been granted:smile: however, I'm wondering what the benefits are of using it? And is it benefitting me or the employer? Would I be taxed at a higher/lower tax rate if I use the ABN or only able to claim a certain amount of tax back when my WHV expires? Is there extra paperwork involved when providing an ABN to an employer versus them doing it without my ABN? It would be great to hear from those who have/are in a similar situ to me or have a good understanding of ABN use. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 The only person this would be benefitting really here is the employer. They now don't have to pay you superannuation. Depending on the job you might have to have your own insurances. You have to keep all your recipes etc and records of every in coming and out going. Then you have to include it all in your own tax return. Personally I'd be telling them you can't get an abn and letting them actually employ you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 6, 2016 Share Posted October 6, 2016 Like blossom says, it's the employer it benefits not you. The employer isn't employing you, he's hiring your company to do the work. That means he doesn't have to pay you holiday pay, superannuation, sick pay etc. It doesn't make any real difference to the amount of paperwork you have to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephaniemdury Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Thank you Blossom and Marisawright:smile: That makes it easier for me to make a decision. If I wasn't able to get an ABN, he said that there was another way to employ me as a contractor. I don't think becoming an employee to the company was ever going to happen. As I'm only here on my WHV, I'm not fussed about super, sick or holiday pay. He's allowing me to be flexible by saying I could squeeze my 37.5 hours into 4 days to take 1 day off or to work a little bit of over time each day to build up a day off. Thanks again for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Casual employees are for more short term things etc. What type of work is it? If you are a contractor then you also won't be covered by work cover if you were to have an accident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephaniemdury Posted October 15, 2016 Author Share Posted October 15, 2016 It's office work, I'll be an ICT Project Officer. Turns out that their insurance covers me if I have an accident at the workplace, but they have advised me to get my own indemnity insurance. I'm assuming that with these extra bits of expense as being a contractor, I can claim some of it back? Am I best off getting an accountant to help me with this; what I can and cannot claim back, who I need to pay my tax to etc. With the new backpacker tax coming into effect on 1st Jan 2017, am I better off claiming my tax back before the end of the year or just leave it all until I leave Australia altogether? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 (edited) If you are employed casually by an employer, the employer pays 9.5% Super into a fund for you you every month/quarter plus your wage is included in the calculation of the amount of workcover he has to pay. Different industries have different workcover rates - it could be something like 3% for an office, or higher if there is a higher chance of an accident or injury happening in your particular workplace/profession. There are set minimum pay awards that an employer has to pay for the job you are doing. If you are being paid as a contractor, with your own ABN, the rate he pays you should not be less than it would cost him to pay someone as a casual employee - so the award rate for the job, plus a casual weighting (usually around 25%), plus any other weightings (weekend work, late shift etc), plus the 9.5% super that he won't need to pay you, and the fact that you will need to be covered by your own workplace insurance - although Workcover are getting a lot more canny these days and starting to look at employers that employ a lot of independent contractors. You will not get PAYG tax withheld by an employer if you are working on your own ABN - it will be up to you to put money aside for this or find the money when tax time comes around. If you just work for the one employer, you should not really be employed as a contractor - there are rules that say you should only do a maximum of something like 80% of your work for that employer and 20% elsewhere. As I say, Workcover and the ATO are cracking down a lot on this and I know have been auditing a lot of companies to make sure a contractor is really an independent contractor and not a way for the employer to get round the rules! So unless you are working elsewhere as well, might be worth looking at the rules closely before agreeing to anything. https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/rights-and-obligations/contractors-and-employees-whats-the-difference Edited October 15, 2016 by Diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 I was wondering whether this might be a means to get round the 6 month max employment rule and that the employer is looking to use your services for longer than 6 months if he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephaniemdury Posted October 17, 2016 Author Share Posted October 17, 2016 Diane - thank you for your information and the link you provided, this has been a massive help to me! Unfortunately (for me, maybe), I've already signed the contract and have started working for them. However, I have brought up my concerns with them and they seem to have taken them well. I'm going to look into this 80/20 rule, as you raise a valid point. My manager seems to think it only applies if I want to start claiming tax relief on "non-essential" stuff. Such as, a luxury car to get me to and from work, a super duper laptop (even though the workplace have provided me with standard laptop) and so on. I have no intention of buying a car purposely to claim tax relief, or have intentions of buying anything else. The only thing I would consider relieving tax from would be my indemnity insurance and my police check, as that's compulsory for the job role. Gbye grey sky - whilst the contract is initially for 2 months, they have mentioned that it could be extended. In my contract agreement it says "for a period no greater than 6 months" so there are no problems there. I also only have 5.5 months left of my visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Casual employees are for more short term things etc. What type of work is it? If you are a contractor then you also won't be covered by work cover if you were to have an accident. Not necessarily. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 There is more work/cost involved for you when you have an ABN, compared with being taxed under PAYG withholding. You'll most probably need to engage an accountant for one thing to prepare your personal tax return and crystallise your tax position. Maybe have a chat with my colleague Jane Cooper of GM Tax - 08 9261 7762. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I'm quite surprised to hear that an ABN has been issued to someone who is on a WHV. One imagines that someone on a WHV (not the OP of course who I'm sure is thoroughly upstanding and law abiding) would just skip off at the end of their visa and not bother about submitting any tax returns let alone paying any tax. Most WHV holders only put in a tax return because they've been paying PAYG and want to get a refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I'm quite surprised to hear that an ABN has been issued to someone who is on a WHV. One imagines that someone on a WHV (not the OP of course who I'm sure is thoroughly upstanding and law abiding) would just skip off at the end of their visa and not bother about submitting any tax returns let alone paying any tax. Most WHV holders only put in a tax return because they've been paying PAYG and want to get a refund. I've always thought it was odd that they let WHV holders have them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 There is also a very good Pay Calculator website run by Fairwork so you can work out what the rate for your job should be https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Collett Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I'm quite surprised to hear that an ABN has been issued to someone who is on a WHV. One imagines that someone on a WHV (not the OP of course who I'm sure is thoroughly upstanding and law abiding) would just skip off at the end of their visa and not bother about submitting any tax returns let alone paying any tax. Most WHV holders only put in a tax return because they've been paying PAYG and want to get a refund. Expect requests for an ABN to be the new rort, given that "employers" will be required to register with the ATO if employing working holiday makers under the new regime: http://sjm.ministers.treasury.gov.au/media-release/104-2016/ To generate more accurate data and boost integrity of the scheme by preventing exploitation of working holiday makers, their employers will be required to undertake a once-off registration with the Australian Taxation Office [ATO]. Best regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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